Hinata's Theme
by felixhe3x
Summary: One shot... He can only regret now but, at least, as long as he plays this bittersweet melody, the both of them can go back to those days, where there was only he and she


Disclaimer: Do not own Naruto

Read and review

Special thanks to Aiko HanaKai, Pseudonym Jareth & Miss Itachi Uchiha

Kudos to Salad Days for giving me so many ideas and inspirations

Enjoy!!!

* * *

Naruto kept his face neutral but the truth was, his heart was so much in pain that he could feel the hollow hole in him, like his arm was missing.

It really didn't help when everyone around him was in such delightful mood it almost palpable. The excited audiences were chatting amiably as they waited for the bride and groom to enter the hall

He scanned around the hall, taking his surrounding in. The hall was lavished with the usual decoration of the wedding; the soft, velvety red carpet, the three-layered cake, the flower bouquets.

He didn't have much time to look more because suddenly-

"The bride and groom have entered the ballroom! Everyone please give them a warm applause!" The MC announced.

The large wooden door opened and the music started slowly. The roguish looking groom dressed in black tuxedo came in, but it was the beautiful bride who swept Naruto's breath away. She was wearing a snow white gown, her happiness radiating around her angelically. Her onyx hair swayed with the wind as she walked towards her prince. Nothing could describe her except beautiful. The wedding hall was engulfed in loud clasps and praises like for the lovely bride, and she blushed a bit, while Naruto gazed at her.

"Pst, Naruto, you're playing guitar later right? What's song will it be?" Someone whispered in his ear. He turned to his left and there sat Ino, innocent looking.

"Firefly's Samba" The blond replied curtly, annoyed that she distracted him from observing Hinata longer.

"No way... you're so weird, couldn't you have chosen something a little more classy? You couldn't have written something or anything for your friend could you," Ino complained to him.

Naruto smiled bitterly at the word 'friend'

_'Indeed, because to this day... I am only a ' friend' to her'_

The blond jounin noticed that her gentle lavender eyes locked with his blue eyes, and she gave him a small blissful smile just for him.

He forced a smile– the smile that Hinata seemed to be happy with

_'... And to think that she doesn't even know, but to me she was... ever since a long time ago I've never seen her merely as a friend' _Naruto thought, bitterly

---

He didn't quite recall when he started to feel this way, but it was certain that it was after the war, that he remembered Hinata's confession to him – while protecting the person she loved… Naruto, himself.

Wanting to start something, Naruto began to spending time with her... as a friend. The confession had passed a long time ago that Naruto wasn't sure that her feelings towards him were still the same true love she had for him during his fight with Pain.

Feelings could change and be easily misunderstood. Naruto knew this first-hand when he realized that his love for Sakura was merely a simple affection towards a teammate and a good friend.

Naruto was loud, confident and easy going, while Hinata was kind, gentle and proper.

He was a front line shinobi, while she was more of a supportive role.

His hobby was training and playing guitar while her's was flower arranging and gardening.

The blonde was one with no parents or a clan, while the raven was the main branch's heir of the Hyuuga clan.

From the onset, they were completely different and mismatched but even so, for some reason, whenever they were together, they'd always be happy, no matter what happened. Happiness was the only emotion that fill the atmosphere among them.

To nurture this relationship into romance would have needed a lot of help, pushing and truthfulness. A long time before neither could admit to each other.

---

The ballroom was engulfed in applause once again as the groom and bride cut the cake together, a clean slice into the cram cake.

"But honestly, I never thought that you'd be invited here today" Ino noted quietly.

"Huh?" Naruto had actually forgot about her, and he tore his eyes away from Hinata.

"Normally people don't invite ex-boyfriends."

"Eh? Who?" Naruto asked, surprised.

Ino sighed. She pointed at Naruto with a disappointed expression. "_You_, Naruto! Who else?"

"... We never even dated..." He replied, quietly, like he just swallowed something bitter.

A genuine shock dawned on Ino's features. "Seriously?" She paused for a quick second. "But you did have a thing for each other, right?"

Naruto was silent – not a word escaped his lips.

That was true on his part. He once thought that they did have a mutual liking, but it only turned out to be his wistful thinking.

---

There was so many times he wanted to confess, but it turned out that being a 'good friend' was a high wall that came between them, preventing him to cross over it, the place where love and trust was.

Though he knew he had to do it someday still deep inside him, he didn't really have the courage to do it. He wasn't brave enough , afraid that he might lose her if he tore down the wall that separated them from 'good friend' to 'lovers'.

He looked at the ceiling, remorse and regret flowing through him.

---

_"This is really good. What's it called?" A familiar soft voice asked him, a memory just like yesterday._

_Naruto had stopped in the middle of playing his guitar and turned to her, smiling brightly."It doesn't have name yet, it was finished yesterday."_

_"Oh…Who wrote it?"_

_"Me," he replied nonchalantly, adding some adjustments to the sheet of music._

_"Naruto-kun, you can write a song?" Her pale eyes twinkled in excitement._

_"It's nothing special really."_

_"But... it really amazing. You have to write one for me. My own song, just for me," she told him wistfully._

_At that moment, he told himself, 'This is it. This is the opportunity I longed for...'_

---

Weeks had passed since that day and he had been working on her song, that one song day and night, giving everything into writing it as he poured his feelings, his thoughts and love into the song.

_'As long... as long I imbue my feeling into this song. And through music, she might just understand my love for her…'_

---

_Naruto was standing in front of the gate, feeling a bit nervous as his heart was thumped loudly in his ear. In his hand were the sheets of music he had labored over, and he smiled fondly at it. Walking to the back, he smiled. It was the usual meeting place for him and Hinata, her personal garden, and they sat on the same crooked wooden bench all the time._

_"Naruto-kun, you're early today, " she smiled._

_His heart rose, seeing her beam like that. Clutching the sheet slightly, he was about to speak but-_

_"Naruto-kun, are you willing to hear me out?"_

_"W-what is it?"_

_"T-to tell you the truth… I've fallen in love with someone…"_

_Naruto widened his eyes slightly as his heart fell to his stomach._

_'Wha-?'_

_Hinata blushed "I-it's such a curious thing. Up until yesterday, I held no particular feelings for him..."_

_'... Stop...'_

_"... but all of sudden, he felt special to me."_

_'Stop! I... I don't want to hear it!'_

_"You see, I-"_

_"W-what a coincidence! I've fallen in love with a girl, too!" He blurted out. As realization dawned on him, his eyes widened at the lie that he had blurted out. But the pain was too much for him, he just wanted her to stop, to run away._

_"Eh? Is that true?"_

_Her expression fell slightly which left unnoticed by him._

_"Oh man! Nothing can be as coincidental as this!" Naruto continued. 'What the hell am I saying?' he thought."We're really in sync!" he remarked._

_"I-is that right? Then let us both do our best together," she replied sweetly, the crestfallen expression neatly patched up underneath a mask of joy and fake happiness._

_Those words that she said brought him an immeasurable pain. His heart was crushed, just like the crumpled music sheets in his hand_

---

Since that day, time simply froze for him. Nothing meant anything anymore.

The blond was in front of the locker, taking out his guitar from the cheap rental hole.

"Hinata is really beautiful, isn't she?" He heard someone spoke.

"Yeah, it's sorta inspiring me to get married soon, too!"

"Ne, ne... Do you know?"

"Know about what?"

"That Hinata used to have a huge crush on Naruto," the voice stage whispered.

"I know that but I heard her confession failed."

"Yes but she still loved him even after the war finish! Can you believe that?"

Naruto widened his eyes in shock _'What did she just say?"_

"She said that there was one time she wanted to confess again but because Naruto had someone else he liked, she refrained. It's such a bad timing, isn't it?"

_Actually... I've fallen in love with a guy _

_'No, how can this happen?' _His body trembled with regret _'Back then, she was referring to... me?'_

---

"Next, we shall have the bride's good friend, Uzumaki Naruto-san, play 'Firefly's Samba' for us!"

Naruto positioned his finger on the strings.

_'All I can do is regret,' _He thought as a rueful smile formed across his features. _'If only I had a bit more courage back then, things would've been different now, huh?'_

He strummed the first chord, however instead the upbeat and fun melody of Firefly's Samba, a gentle and drifting tune filled the wedding hall.

Its tender chord filled with tranquility, producing a serene and calm atmosphere.

A hushed murmur broke in the crowd. "It's not Firefly's Samba,right?" or "It's a nice song"

_'No, that's not it' _He thought_ 'It's because of my cowardliness that I'm regretful now.'_

Naruto closed his eyes as he enjoyed the sweet sound from his guitar.

_'This will be the last time I'm going to play this song' _Naruto declared, in his mind_ 'The feelings I couldn't express back then... I'm leaving it here. It's about time for me to move on, isn't it?'_

"Hinata, what's wrong...?" The groom whispered.

"I don't know… I… I don't know why I'm…" Hot fresh tears were flowing down from her lilac eyes, unbidden, and cascaded her beautiful visage. Her heart started to beat madly, as she listened to the soft melody that embraced her with a nostalgic bittersweet emotion from a long time ago. "... I don't know why I would tear up like this."

The blond's meticulous fingers swept across the strings impeccably. His eyes teared up a bit, as he continued the song, sadness choking up his throat.

_'At this moment, with this theme... the both of us returned to those days, where there were only you and me. After this song ends, we'll return to being just 'good friend'. I know that our time was slipping away but... my present self now can happily say...'_

With a final brittle strum, Naruto finished the song. The lingering feeling and emotion in the air left the audience breathless. A small clap echoed in the hall and slowly, it boomed into loud clap that reverberated around the hall. He then turned to the bride's direction, who looked at him tearfully.

Naruto offered her a genuine smile.

_'Yeah... 'Let's both do our best starting today'...'_

* * *

That's all for Hinata's theme


End file.
